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Turner Goes Off on Sondland for Creating a Barrage of Fake News Headlines

Republican Congressman Mike Turner went off on U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland Wednesday afternoon for implying in his opening statement that President Trump ordered a quid-pro-quo over aid to Ukraine. According to Sondland's testimony later in the hearing, President Trump never ordered a quid-pro-quo and never asked him to do anything improper.

Turner: "After you testified, Chairman Schiff ran out and gave a press conference and said he gets to impeach the president of the United States because of your testimony and if you pull up CNN today, right now their banner says, 'Sondland ties Trump to withholding aid.' Is that your testimony today Ambassador Sondland? That you have evidence that Donald Trump tied the investigations to the aid? Because I don't think you're saying that."

Sondland: "I've said repeatedly congressman that I was presuming. I also said that President Trump never..."

Turner: "So nobody else on this planet told you that Donald Trump was tying aid to these investigations?"

Sondland: "Yes."

Turner: "So you really have no testimony today that ties President Trump to a scheme to withhold aid from Ukraine in exchange for these investigations."

Sondland: "Other than my own presumption."

Turner: "Which is nothing!"

A reminder of what Sondland said: 

As Turner noted, CNN and other news outlets are running headlines stating President Trump did issue a quid-pro-quo and tied Ukraine aid to investigations. In other words, Sondland's opening statement created a barrage of fake news headlines.